Detectives Work ‘Through the Night' in Case of Slain Officer: Police

Charges were expected to be filed in the next 36 hours in connection with the fatal shooting of Cmdr. Paul Bauer, according to a spokesman for the Chicago Police Department

Detectives "worked through the night" in the investigation of a shooting that claimed the life of a high-ranking Chicago police officer, a CPD spokesman said Wednesday.

Cmdr. Paul Bauer, 53, was fatally shot while confronting an armed offender at the James R. Thompson Center Tuesday afternoon, according to police.

Bauer was "senselessly murdered today while safeguarding Chicago," CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a tweet after the shooting.

Just before 7 a.m. Wednesday morning, Guglielmi tweeted that detectives were working tirelessly in the investigation and "continue to comb through evidence to build our case in the murder of Cmdr. Paul Bauer." 

"We expect to file charges sometime in next 36 hrs," he added. All command staff members were expected to report to CPD headquarters for an address by Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson Wednesday morning, Guglielmi said. 

Bauer was at the building, located in the 100 block of West Randolph Street in the city's Loop, at around 2 p.m. Tuesday afternoon when he saw a man who matched the description of an offender wanted by tactical officers in the area, police said.

The tactical officers had moments earlier approached a man they said was "acting suspicious" when an armed confrontation ensued. The suspect escaped from the officers, who then put out a description of the wanted man.

Bauer, who was on duty at the time, noticed a man matching that description, and when he approached, an argument broke out, according to reports, and Bauer was shot multiple times.

Witnesses said they ran to hide as chaos erupted, with one person in the building at the time saying he saw the two men arguing before hearing as many as five shots.

Bauer was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.

"Today is an extremely difficult day for the Chicago police family," a visibly emotional Johnson said at a news conference just two hours after the shooting.

"I just ask the entire city for your thoughts and prayers," Johnson said. "Any loss of life in this city is tragic, this one is difficult."

Bauer was a 31-year veteran of the police force, and widely-respected across both the department and the community he served. He led the 18th District on the city's Near North Side for the last two years, with area residents remembering him as a "genuine, honest man, more than anything," according to one barista at the coffee shop where Bauer held his regular "Coffee With a Commander" events.

Bauer was also known as a family man, leaving behind a wife and 13-year-old daughter, Johnson said.

"The hearts of every Chicagoan are heavy as we mourn the loss Commander Paul Bauer," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. "Commander Bauer stood for the highest ideals of our police department and our city - to serve and protect the people of Chicago."

"His death is a tragic reminder of the dangerous duty the men and women of our police department accept to ensure the safety of us all," Emanuel continued.

A suspect was taken into custody and a weapon recovered from the scene, according to police. He remained in custody Wednesday morning as authorities continued to investigate. 

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